The Final Problem
by lupinsapprentice
Summary: So, what happened behind the scenes as Conan was off saving the world? Akai Shuichi didn't mind being out of the spotlight. This is his story.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or any elements or characters within that are recognizable. I just mess with them.

**Prologue: Charade of Shadows**

The night was as invasive to the mind as the fear and adrenaline that sped through the veins of the two figures standing at the edge of the empty highway. It was late, and unlikely that there would be any passers-by. A favor, perhaps, to the actors on this unlikely stage, as a witness would only detract from the spectacle being performed for their shadowed audience. The full moon provided the perfect atmosphere and cast dark contrast onto the faces of the reluctant actors. Not that they would ever show such an emotion.

Sharp dark eyes stared into harsh brown as the two hardened agents watched each other carefully. The man, brilliant and devious, was resigned to the task in front of him. Anything for the good of the people, no? The woman was afraid. Granted, it was buried deep under her masks of hatred and loyalty, but it was still a slight sliver of fear that could ruin the entire charade. She couldn't risk anything of the sort. The mission must not be compromised. It was the only reason the Company would ever work with the Bureau. Their competition was legendary, and their skills even more so. The agents looked at each other in minute, silent agreement of their task before bursting into action. A shot rang through the cold night air.

The woman, Hondou Hidemi, stared from under her baseball cap at the blood-like substance that oozed down the side of Akai Shuichi's pain-twisted mouth. He truly was a good actor. She could hear Gin's excited breathing through the microphone that was tucked behind her ear.

"_Just finish it already Kir. He means nothing to you, right? He'd better not_."

Her brow furrowed as she protested at the implication of betrayal. _Shit, he's not buying it!_ "Of course not! I could never fall so far." She spat, a disgusted scowl crossing her face. She could almost hear the maniacal grin that stretched across the twisted man's face.

"_Drive a bullet into his head. It'll make sure his life will come to an end._"

"Roger," she replied firmly.

"_Goodbye_ koibito-san…" His wheezing, ragged laughter close to her ear made her give a small flinch. As she stared into the eyes of her victim, she watched his mouth form his last words.

"To think you'd go this far."

Her mouth twisted into a wry parody of a smile. "I'm surprised at myself." She let her finger pull the trigger.

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A/N: This is a story that I'm working on right now, based on the life of Akai Shuichi while he is involved with the nasty business in Japan. I'm pretty excited about this, but I really can't guarantee any regular updates because of how hectic working and college-ing is full time as a freshman. I love the idea of this though, especially because there are barely any stories with Akai in this fandom. It's a shame, because he's such an interesting character. I suppose I should warn about all kinds of spoilers and speculation, as well as language and violence. It shouldn't get any worse than that. Tell me what you think!

~Kai


	2. Chapter 1

** Chapter 1: Donning a Mask**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own.

**Warnings:** Language, violence

* * *

The blank exploded into his face and he jolted backwards as a small detonator ruptured the packet of liquid hidden beneath his hat. _That's my favorite hat. Dammit Gin. _He could feel the annoying stickiness of the blood-like substance as it flowed down his face and onto the leather interior of the truck beneath his head. His eyes closed in a mockery of death, he waited for the silent touch on his leg to indicate the next part of the plan. Kir gave a slight smirk of satisfaction when she heard Gin and Vodka's response to the distant police sirens that were headed through the mountainous highway roads around the Raiha Pass.

"_Kir, run away after taking care of the mess."_

_ "_Roger." She spoke into her radio and gave Akai a slight tap to the knee. She turned fully to look at the flashing lights of the approaching police cars and waited impatiently for the tell-tale engine purr of the nearby Porsche 356A to pull away. As the sirens grew closer, Kir watched out of the corner of her eye as her fellow performer pushed himself further into the Chevy. From the back seat, he quickly dragged forward the limp corpse of Rikumichi Kusuda, a man who had already sacrificed himself for the Organization. _And he shall do so again. Morbid thoughts come with morbid tasks, I suppose. _Shuichi was darkly contemplative as he hauled the corpse of a man who could have been him.

Because they had dressed the body to look like Shuichi earlier, there was no issue with protecting his identity. The plan that mini-detective and he had come up with to 'identify' the body as Shuichi after the impending explosion involved the dead man's fingerprints on Edogawa Conan's phone from the earlier hospital adventure, and Shuichi's prints on the phone used for Kudo Shinichi. Because his colleague Jodie had Conan's phone, she would believe the dead man to be Shuichi. Her genuine emotion would be paramount to universal belief that he was truly dead. Which, to be honest, made him feel a bit guilty. But after what he had done in his life, it was the job that was most important in the end.

Shuichi silently and rapidly positioned the corpse and tucked the dead man's right hand into his jacket to preserve the corpse's prints for identification. Shuichi then got the hell out of the way. He moved out of the driver's side door to slip under the guard rail of the pass and drop down to a small, rocky ledge that lined the cliff. He did so as Hondou set the detonator and backed away towards her car. He made his way on the side of the cliff until he was a good fifty feet away, hanging dangerously at points so that he could reach the next handhold. As he hauled himself back up to the guard rail, he could feel the explosion of the truck rock the entire cliff. He held even tighter onto the gravel and metal, fingers straining to hold his battered body up. He had never had the experience of quite so much dried, sticky, fake blood on top of the dark bruising underneath his thin Kevlar vest from the rubber bullet of the first shot. _Still, thank god that wasn't a real shot. Those things hurt like a bitch. _Shuichi gave a small groan and moved quickly over the side rail, out of the sight of the police that had gathered at the scene of the explosion. He crossed the pavement to the steep incline of the plateau above him. He worked steadily to make his way up the final ridge, dirt crumbling under torn fingers and rocks falling into his already busted-up face. As he cleared the edge, he gave a long sigh of relief. There, in front of him, shining beautifully in the light of the full moon, was his baby. His beloved motorcycle that he had placed there before the confrontation when he had been 'scouting'. He swung a leg over his bike and ignited the engine. Grabbing a rag from his pocket, he gave a quick swipe over his face to remove most of the fake blood so that it didn't dry nastily onto his face. And so he wouldn't freak anybody out. _Though that might be fun for some stress relief_. He pulled on a pair of driving goggles and tucked his favorite, now tragically ruined hat into his coat. He could still taste the bitter tang of the fake blood from when he had broken the pack that had been tucked into his cheek and let it trickle out of the corner of his mouth during the first shot. He gave another sigh, this one of relief that everything was over for the moment. _Take that Gin. Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice, well, that's your own damn fault. We're gonna win this. _Pulling onto the road that crossed the top of the Pass, he sped away.

Turning into the dirty alleyway that hid his personal bolt-hole for just this type of situation, he turned off the ignition on his bike and carefully tucked his keys into the pocket of his jacket. Hopping off and leaving his goggles firmly attached to his face, he dragged a nearby tarp over his baby so that no punks would run off with her. He then patted his coat to make doubly sure his gun was still in its holster and slunk to the door that was tucked into the shadows at the end of the alley. He made it to the doorway and let himself in. He had left the worn door unlocked before leaving earlier, to allow for the person helping him to enter while he was busy at the pass. He shut the door firmly behind him and closed both locks as well as the dead bolt. No point in risking anything at this point in the game.

"Hello?" Came the disturbingly light and cheerful voice of the person-that-he-knew-absolutely-nothing-about that his accomplice had recommended for this step of their ridiculously complicated plan.

Shuichi stuck his head around the wall of the hallway and peered into the kitchen. Sitting at the table under a dimming circle of light was a woman. She had light brown, perfectly coiffed hair that curled by her ears and fell in light waves past her shoulders. She wore a light pink women's working suit that shaped her body in crisp creases. The hat that sat beside her on the worn wood of the table would have concealed her identity quite well in the twilight lit streets of Tokyo. Though shadows covered most of the room, he could clearly see that this woman was quite beautiful. _What the hell was the little guy thinking? _"And you are?" He asked as he stepped fully into the room.

"Oh hun, you've spent too much time on the job if you don't recognize me. Relax a little and watch some mindless television sometimes!" She said in an exasperated trill. Getting up, she approached and stretched out a hand to shake. "Kudo Yukiko, actress, wife, mother, and apparently accomplice to dead government agents."

Shuichi faltered, but quickly moved to shake the woman's deceptively delicate hand. "Said government agent. My partner recommended you for this job, so I trust you will be able to assist me with a permanent disguise and identity? I have the paperwork made up already."

"Oh, that won't be a problem. I love dressing people up! I'm glad my son mentioned me, I adore this sort of thing! The mystery, the intrigue!"

Shuichi watched a sly grin cross the woman's face.

"Ah. Good. That would make your son…," he trailed off. "Of course." The woman's smile widened at the connections he was making.

"He trusts you, of course, or he would have never asked me to do this. He worries too much! It'll give him premature wrinkles." She said in a proud, yet fondly annoyed tone. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Shuichi made a cursory sweep of the room for any bugs that might have appeared in his absence. He could never be too careful. Finding none, he took a seat at the table and turned to the woman once more. "Mrs. Kudo, my name is Akai Shuichi. I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America, and I have been undercover in Japan for quite a few years. " He stated in English. The woman nodded and replied in kind.

"Just call me Yukiko, hun, you'll make me feel old."

"Very well, Miss Yukiko."

She gave a wry smile, then he face straightened as she became very serious. "If you must. Now, I'm going to start on fleshing out your disguise while you tell me the persona you will take. Name please."

"Subaru Okiya." She pulled two large boxes out from under the table and opened them, revealing many different theatrical elements of disguise. Wigs, fake facial hair, eyebrows, latex pieces, and countless types of makeup. Shuichi's brow raised at the sheer variety of the collection.

"I was trained by the best. Keep going. You know how this works, I need a brief history. Background. Interests. Current life's dream." She replied stiltedly around the black makeup brush tucked between her maroon-painted lips.

Taking a sip of his water, Shuichi sighed. "I have enrolled Okiya in graduate school at Tohto University to obtain a doctorate in engineering. He went to undergrad school for engineering when he was 17 and graduated four years later. After doing intern work and later finding a stable job in editing for a small local newspaper, I decided to go back to school for a doctorate. Such a prestigious title. I just started this semester, and hope to obtain my doctorate in four years."

Yukiko tucked her make-up brush into its case and started picking through various bottles that were organized neatly into the other box. "Hmm, light, yes light will work. But not blonde. Strawberry blonde?..." She trailed off, and pulled on a pair of thin, plastic gloves with a sharp snap. Opening one of the many bottles, she started mixing it in a dish with a large brush. She waved the brush at him to make him continue.

"I am a proficient martial artist, and can defend myself in almost any situation. I love solving puzzles and playing word games. I love to read. That's very cold," He complained in response to the mixture that Yukiko was currently massaging into his scalp. It started stinging slightly as he started speaking again.

"My favorite author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as his mysteries are both coherent and enjoyable to read. A passion of mine are Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books. I know so much about them, I could virtually write an encyclopedia of the series."

Yukiko tapped his shoulder and indicated that he should stand. She led him to the sink and gently pushed his head down over it. He grimaced at the burning on his scalp and how disgusting the sink was. _I really have to clean in here once in a while…_ Yukiko turned on the water and let it run until it wasn't freezing. As the mixture of water and bleach ran down his face, he clenched his eyes shut and let his mind fall fully into another life. Yukiko ran her fingers through his hair once more and shut the water off. Grabbing a towel from the box, she wiped her hands carefully and inspected her nails quickly in the light by the table. She then tossed the damp towel to the man across from her. "Thanks." Rubbing the towel on his damp hair, he sat once more. " I also love to garden. Taking care of plants soothes my nerves and helps me relax. I am intelligent. A quick thinker." He took a deep breath and the tension flowed out of him.

"Now, what's your name, hun?" The woman asked with a kind smile that lit her eyes. _That's a nice smile. Genuine. _

"My name is Subaru Okiya. Nice to meet you, ma'am." Okiya gave a kind smile and reached out to shake her hand. The man from before was gone. In place of predatory grace was smooth elegance. Paranoid glances were smothered by smiles and relaxed shoulders. The handshake itself was loose and light compared to its earlier terseness.

Yukiko gave a huge grin, and started to replace her materials back in the boxes. As she bustled around the table, she tossed a comb to Subaru.

"Comb that mop of hair, and I'll give you a mirror so you can take a look at yourself." She carefully said. Subaru nodded and started to work the knots out of his still damp hair. He could see the clumped strands out of the corner of his eye, and his nose twitched at the change from his normal dark brown to an absolutely obnoxious shade of strawberry blonde. It was definitely more strawberry than blonde. His nose twitched again. "Pink. It's pink…" he mumbled, disbelief in his low voice.

Yukiko gave a chiming laugh that echoed in the shadowed room. "Hun, different is gonna save your life, and really. It's not that pink." She stared at him for a moment and her eyes crinkled in focussed scrutiny. "You have beautiful eyes. Very recognizable. Contacts or glasses?" Her head tilted inquisitively.

"Glasses."

"That's probably best."

She rummaged through a bag stashed in one of the bins and picked out a pair of glasses. They were large and thin-rimmed, and the lenses were thick enough that he had to squint to see. _Time to invest in some migraine meds. Ugh._ He screwed up his eyes and slowly made his way over to one of the nearby cabinets. "Tea?"

"Yes, please."

After he had made the tea, he turned to set a cup in front of Yukiko. "You have questions."

"Maybe you could tell me a story. You know, the one about the FBI agent and the young detective. I just have one question. How is my son involved in this mess?"

Subaru stared at her over the rim of his steaming cup, and his lips quirked in a mockery of a smile. "It's a bit of a roller coaster ride. It might mess up that beautiful hair of yours. I do have to admit, though, your son is brilliant. _Very_ easy to work with." He sat back, closing his eyes as he did so. "I met your son at the hospital bed of reporter Rena Mizunashi…"

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A/N: Notes are in the prologue!


End file.
